Compact folding seat with reverse cantilevered pivot

ABSTRACT

The unique folding child vehicle seat ( 10 ) includes a seat back member ( 12 ) and a seat bottom member ( 14 ) that is pivotally connected thereto. The seat bottom ( 14 ) is pivotally connected to the seat back ( 12 ) in the unique location of a selected distance from the bottom edge of the seat back member. A support member ( 42 ) is provided proximal to the bottom edge of the seat back ( 12 ). The seat bottom member ( 14 ) is pivotable between a closed position where the lower surface of the seat bottom member ( 14 ) rests on the support member ( 42 ) to provide a unique cantilevered seat configuration. Vertically oriented plates ( 32   a   , 32   b   , 34   a   , 34   b ) provide an internal framework for added strength. Also, the seat ( 10 ) may be of a non-folding configuration where L-shaped vertically oriented plates ( 202   a   , 202   b ) provide the internal framework.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Non-Provisional Ser.No. 11/064,120, filed on Feb. 22, 2005, which claims priority from priorU.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/575,295 filed on May 28, 2004.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to automobile seats, and morespecifically to a child or infant seat for automobiles and other movingvehicles. More specifically, the present invention relates to child carseats that are foldable, lightweight and, therefore, easily portable.

It is well known in the transportation industry that vehicle seats, suchas automobile seats, installed in a vehicle does not provide adequatesafety for children, particularly very young infants.

These vehicle seats are typically designed to contain adults due totheir size and configuration. For example, the overall size of the seatand the location of the safety belts therein are designed for bodies ofan adult size. When a child sits in such an adult vehicle seat, thechild is not adequately contained and the safety belts are poorlypositioned on the child's body. Thus, the child can easily slip under abelt during an accident thereby risking injury. In summary, a childriding in an adult vehicle seat is extremely unsafe.

Numerous devices have been proposed for enhancing the safety forchildren while driving in automobiles.

While seat belts have provided some measure of safety for olderchildren, separate smaller seats have generally been used for youngchildren and infants since these tend to restrain the child frommovement in almost every direction. Also, the harness seat belts ofthese child car seats can be positioned in the proper location about thechild.

In most instances, these child car seats have been separate seats whichcan be installed on an adult automobile seat and secured in some fashionthereto by means of, for example, the adult seat belts. In newerautomobiles, mounting structures are provided to connect the seatdirectly to the chassis of the vehicle. These child car seats have beenfound to be very effective in protecting the child when in a vehiclethat has only adult-sized seats installed therein.

Child car seats in the prior art are known to be provided in two primaryconfigurations. Most common are non-folding child car seats where thebody of the seat is of a unitary construction. The seat is typicallymade of plastic with a cushioning thereon. The overall shape of the seatis fixed into a general L-shaped configuration. Frequently, certainstyles of these fixed, non-folding child car seats can also receive ahandle for easier portability. Appropriate structures are provided onthe seat to secure it to the adult vehicle seat onto which it isinstalled. U.S. Pat. No. 5,286,086, issued to Gunji, is an example ofsuch a construction.

Due to the unitary construction, the non-folding fixed child car seatsof the prior art are very safe in that they are rigid structures thatare not apt to collapse during an accident. This is a serious concern inaftermarket add-on seats within a vehicle. Also, the very unitarynon-folding construction is also highly undesirable because it is verybulky during travel without the child or for storage, for example in thetrunk of a vehicle when not in use. Therefore, in, these non-foldingchild seats of the prior art, there is a trade off between the safety ofthe rigid non-folding design with portability and compactness tofacilitate transport of the seat.

To address the shortcomings of the prior unitary fixed child vehicleseats, there have been attempts in the prior art to provide a foldingchild car seat. These prior art seats typically include a seat back anda seat bottom that are pivotally connected to each in some way. When inuse, the seat back and the seat bottom are located in an open positionrelative to one another to form the desired seat configuration. When notin use, the seat bottom and seat back are pivoted relative to oneanother so that the seat can collapse whereby the seat bottom and theseat back are proximal to one another. U.S. Pat. No. 5,803,543, issuedto Hartmann, is a good example of this known construction.

The folding child vehicle seats of the prior art are more compact andportable than the non-folding seat discussed above because they fold.However, the presence of a pivot break point introduces a structuralweakness in the construction of the seat. More specifically, the pivotpoint that hingedly connects the seat back to the seat bottom creates astress point that is of particular concern from a safety perspective.Thus, the prior art folding seats must provide the appropriate lockingmechanism to secure the hinged connection in its open condition duringuse. It is critical that satisfactory locking is provided to ensure thatthe seat does not fold up and collapse during an accident.

Prior art folding vehicle seats address this problem in a number ofdifferent ways. For example, locking mechanisms have been provided inthe prior art directly about the pivot point between the seat back andthe seat bottom. In this case, retractable pins or tabs have been usedto engage with slots on the pivot structure to releasbly lock the seatin a desired open or closed condition. These pivot locks are susceptibleto failure because most of the load during an accident is focused on thepivot point of the seat. Also, cross-struts have been used to secure theseat in an open condition, however, these struts are cumbersome anduncomfortable for the child when in operation.

Also, while prior art foldable child car seats do collapse to a smalleroverall shape than non-folding seats to facilitate transport, they arestill quite bulky even when in a closed condition. This is due to thenature and configuration of how they collapse, such as the location andnature of the pivot hinge. Also, the amount of folding is limitedbecause the thickness of the seat bottom impacts into the thickness ofthe seat back. Thus, the overall thickness of the folded seat is thethickness of the seat back plus the thickness of the seat bottom. Somechild seats have very thin seat backs and seat bottoms to provide acompact overall folded configuration, however, the reduced thickness andpadding has a negative impact on the safety of the seat when in use.

The child car seats of the prior art suffer from various disadvantagesthat make them unsafe or cumbersome to use. Therefore, there is a needfor a child car seat to be safe and comfortable to use. There is afurther need for a child car seat to be compact and transportable whilebeing safe. There is a particular need for compact folding child vehicleseat that safely stays open even during the impact of an accident.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention preserves the advantages of prior art foldingseats, such as folding child car seats. In addition, it provides newadvantages not found in currently available seats and overcomes manydisadvantages of such currently available seats.

The invention is generally directed to a novel and unique folding childcar seat that includes a seat back member and a seat bottom member thatis pivotally connected thereto. The seat bottom is pivotally connectedto the seat back in the unique location of a selected distance from thebottom edge of the seat back member. A support member is providedproximal to the bottom edge of the seat back and at a distance from afront face of the seat member. The seat bottom member is pivotablebetween a closed position with the first surface of the seat bottommember being in close proximity to the front face of the seat backmember and an open position with the second surface of the seat bottommember being in communication with the support member to provide aunigue cantilevered seat configuration.

Also, the folding seat of the present invention includes a first arrayof vertically oriented plate members in spaced apart relation to oneanother forming a seat back frame having a bottom end with a supportsurface thereon and a top end. A second array of vertically orientedplate members in spaced apart relation to one another form a seat bottomframe. These plate members are preferably made of steel, but could bemade of other metal and non-metal materials as well that are suitablefor frame members and bearing loads.

Vertically oriented plates can support large loads utilizing lessmaterial when positioned in this fashion which is unique to the presentinvention. Since the load of the seat is borne in the direction of thevertically oriented plate, it is much stronger because it is thisgreater thickness of the plate that is resisting flexing due to thepresence of the load. Thus, the load bearing ability of the frame isgreatly improved with less material weight when the plates therein areoriented on their ends in a vertical fashion.

The seat bottom frame is pivotally connected to the seat back frame at alocation between the bottom end and the top end. The support surface ofthe bottom end being a pivot stop thereby defines an open condition ofthe seat bottom frame relative to the seat back frame and completepivoting of the seat bottom frame toward the seat back frame therebydefines a closed condition. The side armrests of the seat bottomcompactly nest within apertures or recesses in the seat back when theseat is in its folding condition.

During folding, the vertical plates are allowed to pass through thefront surface(s) of the seat. This feature means that the plates can bedesigned in a more linear shape for greater strength with less materialand in the folded condition of the seat, there can be a closer proximityof the seat back plates and seat bottom plates to each other, for alighter weight and strongly supported seat that has a thin foldedprofile.

The present invention addresses all of the problems associated with theprior art by providing a compact folding seat that has a uniquecantilevered construction coupled with a structure to receive the sidearm rests of a seat bottom. As a result, the compact folding seat of thepresent invention is much more secure than prior art folding seats andwill not collapse during an accident while being extremely compact andlight in weight. In view of the foregoing, the folding seat of thepresent invention is more safe and more compact than prior art foldingseats.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a foldingchild car seat.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a folding child carseat that is safe, secure and will not collapse during an accident.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a foldingchild car seat that is extremely compact.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a folding childcar seat that is easy to operate.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a child carseat that is lightweight yet safe and secure.

Another object of present invention is to provide a child car seat thatis comfortable for a child to use.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a child car seatthat can fold quickly and easily.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The novel features which are characteristic of the present invention areset forth in the appended claims. However, the invention's preferredembodiments, together with further objects and attendant advantages,will be best understood by reference to the following detaileddescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a partial cut-away perspective view of the folding childvehicle seat of the present invention in an open condition;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the folding frame structure of thepresent invention when in an open condition;

FIG. 3 is a close-up perspective view of the folding frame structure ofthe present invention when in an open condition;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the height adjustment mechanism ofthe present invention;

FIG. 5 is a bottom perspective view of the height adjustment mechanismof the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the folding frame of the presentinvention in an open condition;

FIG. 7 is a close-up partial cut-away perspective view of a frame memberin an open condition showing a cantilevered construction;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the seat of the present invention in anopen condition with the seat bottom housing removed;

FIG. 9 is a front elevational view of the seat of the present inventionin an open condition;

FIG. 10 is a rear elevational view of the seat of the present inventionin an open condition;

FIG. 11 is a side elevational view of the seat of the present inventionin an open condition;

FIG. 12 is a front perspective view of the seat of the present inventionin a closed condition;

FIG. 13 is a front elevational view of the seat of the present inventionin a closed condition;

FIG. 14 is a bottom perspective view of the seat of the presentinvention in a closed condition;

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view through the line 15-15 of FIG. 13;

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view through the line 16-16 of FIG. 13;

FIG. 17 is a front perspective view of the frame construction of seat ofthe present invention;

FIG. 18 is side elevational view of the frame construction of the seatof the present invention;

FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view through the line 19-19 of FIG. 13;

FIG. 20 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the framestructure of the present invention;

FIG. 21 is a front perspective view of the folding car seat of thepresent invention full padding and cushioning thereon;

FIG. 22 is a side elevational view of an alternative embodiment of thefolding seat of the present invention in an open condition; and

FIG. 23 is a side elevational view of an alternative embodiment of thefolding seat of the present invention in an closed condition.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring first to FIG. 1, a partial cut-away perspective view of thefolding child vehicle seat 10 of the present invention. The seat 10includes a seat back 12 and a seat bottom 14 pivotally connectedthereto. This enables the seat bottom 14 to fold up to the seat back 12,as indicated by the arrow.

In general, the seat of the present invention includes a framestructure, as will be described below, and housing 12 a installedthereon to give the seat 10 a desired ergonomic seat. The housing 12 afor the seat back 12 is in the form of a seat cover while the seatbottom 14 also includes a similar housing or cover 14 a thereon. Thecovers 12 a and 14 a can be made out of any material but are preferablymade of injection molded plastic. These covers 12 a and 14 a are shownin a given ergonomic shape but any desired shape and size can beemployed and still be within the scope of the present invention. It ispreferred to employ well known child vehicle seat configurations whichare generally accepted to meet government standards. For example, sidearm rests 16 on the seat bottom 14 and side panels 18 on the seat back12 are preferably included. However, these structures are optional.Also, various sizes of the seat 10 of the present invention can beprovided to accommodate children of different sizes and ages.

Additional padding , as seen in FIG. 21 below, is preferably added ontop of the outer housings 12 a and 14 a to provide additional cushioningfor a child sitting therein.

For ease of illustration, the folding child vehicle seat 10 is shownwithout the cushioning 20 of FIG. 21, but it should be understood thatany desired cushioning 20, in the form of foam rubber, fabric and thelike and combinations thereof, may be employed to provide an interfacebetween the seat 10 and the child sitting therein. The seat 10 alsoincludes a locking mechanism 22 and a height adjustment mechanism 24, asbest seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, which will be described in detail below.Also, as seen in FIG. 1, pass through apertures 26 in the housing 12 aof the seat back 12 permit a seat belt 28 to be routed therethrough tosecure it to a standard seat in a vehicle (not shown) when the car seat10 is facing forward. This type of interconnection is one of many waysto secure the child seat 10 of the present invention to a vehicle seat.

Turning now to FIG. 2-7, details of the novel and unique frame 30 of theseat 10 of the present invention is shown in detail. FIG. 2 shows theframe structure 30 with all of the cover housing 12 a and 14 a removedfor ease of illustration and discussion. It can be seen that the frame30 is of a foldable construction where a seat back frame 32 and a seatbottom frame 34 is provided. The seat bottom frame 34 is pivotallyconnected to the seat back frame 32 by a pivot rod 36 which runs throughapertures 38 in the rearward free ends 34 a of the seat bottom frame 34.Alternatively, the pivot rod 36 may be secured to the rearward free ends34f of the seat bottom frame 34 where the pivot rod 36 rotates within anaperture in the seat back frame 32.

The seat back frame 32 and the seat bottom frame 34 each have at leastone plate-like member that is oriented on its respective ends 32e and34e, namely, in a vertical orientation to achieve a scissoring typefolding action, as will be described below. Preferably, as shown, twovertically oriented plates 32 a and 32 b in spaced apart relation to oneanother are employed for the seat back frame 32. Also, preferably, twovertically oriented plates 34 a and 34 b in spaced apart relation to oneanother are employed for the seat bottom frame 34. While two verticallyoriented plates are preferred for each frame 32 and 34, it is possibleto employ only one, or more than two, vertically oriented framemember(s) for each of the seat back frame 32 and the seat bottom frame34, and still be within the scope of the present invention. These plates32 a, 32 b, 34 a, 34 b are preferably made of steel but could be made ofother metal and non-metal materials that are suitable as frame membersfor bearing loads.

Referring now to FIGS. 3-5, details of the locking mechanism, generallyreferred to as 40, and folding structure of the vehicle seat 10 of thepresent invention is shown. As stated above, the vertically orientedplates 34 a, 34 b of the seat bottom frame 34 are pivotally connected tothe vertically oriented plates 32 a, 32 b of the seat back frame 32. Asupport stop member 42 is mounted or integrally formed with the seatback plate 34 and is in the form of an outwardly turned flange with anaperture 44 therethrough. A complementary lock plate 46 is connected tothe seat bottom frame 34 and emanates outwardly therefrom. For example,as shown in FIG. 3, the lock plate 46 is riveted to the seat bottomframe 34 but it could be affixed in other ways and can be integrallyformed with the seat bottom frame 34.

The support stop member 42 and the lock plate 46 serve to define theopen angle of the child vehicle seat 10. More specifically, the seatbottom frame 34 pivots about an axis through the pivot rod 36 and,thereby, relative to the seat back frame 32. Rotation of the seat bottomframe 34 in a clockwise fashion is limited by communication of the lockplate 46 into the stop member 42 which is in the form of the outwardlyturned flange. As a result, the pivot point of the folding child carseat 10 is above and behind the body of child where the structure forprevention further rotation is set off a selected distance awaytherefrom. As a result, a unique and novel cantilevered foldingconfiguration is provided by the seat 10 of the present invention.

The unique cantilevered construction is particularly important in thatit provides a secure structural configuration for preventing furtherclockwise rotation of the seat bottom frame 34 relative to the seat backframe 32. Due to the interface of the lock plate 46 with the stop member42, even under force (such as would occur in an accident if the seat 10was rear-facing in a vehicle, as seen in FIG. 11) it is not possible forthe seat bottom 34 to rotate clockwise beyond what is shown in FIGS. 2,3 and 6. Also, as seen in FIG. 7, which is a cross-sectional viewthrough the line 7-7 of FIG. 1, the bottom edge 34 e of the pivotingbottom frame 34 rests on tabs 48 that emanate inwardly from the seatback plate 32. This communication further supplements the engagement ofthe lock plate 46 and the stop member 42 to provide a completecantilevered configuration.

The preferred embodiment of the present invention, as shown above inFIGS. 3-5, provides a unique cantilevered configuration where the pivotpoint 68 is positioned above and behind the body of child where thestructure for prevention further rotation is set off a selected distanceaway therefrom. The cantileved construction prevents the seat bottom 14from opening too far. This cantilevered construction is the preferredcantilevered construction. However, many different configurations ofcantilevered construction may be employed and still be within the scopeof the present invention.

FIGS. 22 and 23 illustrate an alternative embodiment 300 of thecantilevered folding construction of the present invention where therelative positioning of the pivot point 302 of the folding to the stopmember 304 is reversed compared to the embodiment of FIGS. 3-5.Referring to FIG. 22, a seat bottom 306 is shown pivotally connected toa seat back 308 via a pivot point 302 in the form of a pivot axle, forexample. It should be understood that the construction and otherfeatures of the alternative embodiment of FIGS. 22 and 23 is the same atthe embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-19 with the exception of the pivot 302and stop 304 construction which will be described in detail below.

In the alternative embodiment 300 of FIGS. 22 and 23, a pivot axle 302is provided to rotationally connected the seat bottom 306 to the seatback 308 so that the seat bottom 306 may fold up to and in the seat back308 as in the embodiment 10 shown in FIGS. 1-19. A support plate 310 isaffixed to the pivot axle 302 so that it pivots therewith. The supportplate 310 also includes a seat 312 to removably receive stop 304therein. As can be seen in FIG. 22, the seat 300 is in an open conditionwhere the stop 304 is residing within the seat 312 thereby preventingfurther opening of the seat 300 beyond the position shown in FIG. 22.FIG. 23 illustrates the seat 300 of the alternative embodiment in afolded condition where the seat 300 has lifted off of the stop 304 topermit pivoting upward for a compact folded structure.

The pivot point is shown in seat 300 as a pivot axle 302 and the stop isshown in the form of a pin 304. This is just one of many different typesof constructions to carry of the reverse cantilevered configuration ofthe embodiment 300 of the present invention. For example, the stop 304may be a plate or a block insead of a pin to serve the function ofenagaging with the seat 300.

The pivot axle 302 of the folding seat 300 is located forward of the pin304 as opposed to behind the pivot 68 of the preferred embodiment 10 ofthe present invention. Also, the pivot axle 302 is shown above the pin304 but it could be positioned below or even with the pin 304, asdesired. Still further, the pivot axle 302 can be directly above thestop pin 304.

In general, the alternative embodiment 300 of the folding seat of thepresent invention provides an alternative cantilevered constructionwhere the stop 304 and the pivot axle 302 are reversed in orientationcompared to the cantilevered configuration of the seat 10 of the presentinvention.

Also of critical importance is the control of the counter-clockwisepivoting or rotation of the seat bottom frame 34 relative to the seatback frame 32. This is important because of the concern that a foldingchild car seat 10 may collapse due to the impact of an accident. Morespecifically, when an accident occurs, such a front impact, there is atendency for the seat 10 to be thrown forward. This causes the seat back12 to be urged forward with high force thereby placing downward force onthe seat bottom 14. In the environment of a folding seat, forward anddownward force into the seat bottom 14 causes significant stress on thepivot point of a folding seat. Therefore, a locking mechanism 40 must beemployed to ensure that the folding seat does not collapse, that is theseat bottom 14 rotating in a counter-clockwise direction, in the eventof an accident.

The preferred locking mechanism 40 of the present invention is shown anddescribed in connection with FIGS. 3, 6 and 8. A spring-loaded lock pin50 is mounted to seat back frame 32 a so it can actuate back and forth.The lock pin 50 resides in a channel 52 defined by the seat back frame32. The lock pin 50 includes a reduced neck 54 portion with an eye 56 onits free end and a pin head 58 with rounded free end that is extendablethrough the aperture 44 in the stop member 42 and an aperture 60 in thelock plate 46. The pin head 50 also includes an internal seat 62. Thereduced neck portion 54 is connected to the pin head 58 and carries acoil spring 64 that is positioned between the internal seat 62 and achannel seat 52 defined by the seat back frame 32. A linkage 64interconnects the reduced neck portion 54 to a pivot handle 66, at amidpoint between a pivot point 68 and the free end 70 of the handle 66,which is connected to the seat back frame 32. Pulling the pivot handle66 causes it to pivot about its pivot point 68 thereby pulling on thereduced neck portion 54 of the lock pin 50 against the forces of thecoil spring 64. As a result, the pin head 58 actuates in an out of theaperture 44 in the stop member 42 and the aperture 60 in the lock plate46.

In FIG. 6, the seat back frame 32 and the seat bottom frame 34 are in anopen engaged condition where the lock pin is routed through the aperture44 in the stop member 42 and through the aperture 60 in the lock member46. With the pin head 58 in this position and in view of the pivot point68 of the back frame 32 relative to the bottom frame 34 it is impossiblefor the lock plate 46 to slidably move relative to the stop member 42.Thus, the locking mechanism 40 effectively secures the back frame 32 tothe bottom frame 34 in the unique cantilevered configuration of thepresent invention. To permit collapsing of the folding seat 10, thehandle 66 is pulled to retract the pin head 58 to permit the lock plate46 to pass by the stop member 42 on the back frame 32. Thus, an operatorof the seat 10 can easily engage and disengage the locking mechanism 40of the present invention without sacrificing the integrity of thecantilevered structure of the seat 10 of the present invention.

It should be understood that only one side of the locking mechanism 40was described above. The locking mechanism on the opposing side of theseat operates in identical fashion. In this preferred embodiment,locking mechanisms 40 are intended to operate in unison for ease of use.A second pivot handle corresponding to a second locking mechanism islinked to a first pivot handle via the pivot rod 36. Thus, pullingeither one or both of the handles will cause the locking mechanisms 40to actuate.

While this is a preferred locking mechanism, it is only one of manydifferent types and configurations of locking mechanisms 40 that may beemployed. For example, the locking mechanisms 40 on opposing sides ofthe seat 10 construction may be configured to operate independently.Also, the locking pins 50 may be oriented transversely through the seatbottom frame 34 rather than in parallel therewith. Further, otherlocking structures that do not employ a spring-loaded pin 50 and lockplate 46 may be employed and still be within the scope of the presentinvention.

Referring now to FIG. 8, a perspective view of the seat 10 of thepresent invention is shown where the cover housing 14 a for the seatbottom 14 is removed for illustration purposes. As discussed above, theseat bottom plates 34 a, 34 b are preferably vertically oriented plates.Not only are the vertically oriented plates 32 a, 32 b, 34 a, 34 bpreferred to provide an internal framework for the seat 10, the verticalpositioning of the frame members 32 a, 32 b, 34 a, 34 b, particularlythose of the bottom frame member 34, namely, 34 a, 34 b, can effectivelyscissor relative to the back frame members 32 a, 32 b to provide aunique compact folding structure.

Also, as can be seen in FIG. 8, the vertically oriented plates 34 a, 34b of the bottom frame member 34 permit the bottom seat member 14 topivot more closely to the seat back member 12 because the seat cover 14a on the seat bottom 14 covers a distal portion of the seat bottom framemembers 34 a, 34 b leaving an interconnecting portion of the seat bottomframe members 34 a, 34 b that are only vertically oriented plates. Aswill be described in further detail in connection with FIGS. 12 and 13,the pivoting exposed portions 34 x of the vertically oriented plates 34a, 34 b of the bottom frame member 34 pass through slots 72 in thehousing 12 a of the seat back member 12 in a scissor-like fashionwhereby the bottom frame members 34 a, 34 b pass through a plane definedby the front surface of the seat back member 12. As will be made clearbelow, this unique folding mechanism allows the seat bottom 14 to foldup and nest fully within the seat back member 12.

Referring back to FIGS. 1-5, a height adjustment mechanism, generallyreferred to as 24, for adjusting the angle and height of how the seatbottom 14 rests against a support surface, such as the top surface of astandard vehicle seat (not shown) . Preferably, an axle 74, at its freeends 74 a, is pivotally mounted to the bottom frame members 34 a, 34 b.The axle 74 includes a bent middle portion 74 b that is spring-biased ina rearward direction by coil springs 76 connected thereto that aremounted to the bottom of the housing 14 a of the seat bottom 14.Preferably, a pair of adjustment blocks 76 a and 76 b are routed overthe middle portion 74 b of the axle 74 via a substantially C-shapedchannels 78 therein. The blocks 76 a, 76 b are mounted to a lowercontact plate 80, as seen in FIGS. 12 and 13 via fasteners 82.

The lower contact plate 80 of the seat bottom 14 includes a notch 84where the middle portion 74 b of the axle 74 is freely manipulateablefrom the outside of the seat 10. By manipulating the middle portion 74 bof the axle 74, the blocks 76 a, 76 b are movably positioned on the axle74 to position the lower contact plate 80 thereby providing differentlower contact surfaces for the raising the height of the seat bottom 14when in contact with a support surface. For example, it may be desirableto have the seat 10 be positioned in a more reclined orientation. Bydropping the forwardmost portion of lower contact surface, the front ofthe seat 10 at the seat bottom 14 will be higher thereby causing theseat back 12 to correspondingly tilt backward slightly providing thereclined position because the relative angle of the seat bottom 14 tothe seat back 12 is preferably fixed.

It should be understood that the height adjustment plate 80 is optionalin the folding seat 10 of the present invention. Moreover, the use of abent axle 74 and blocks 76 a, 76 b thereon is merely a preferredstructure and that other structures for adjusting the height of the seatbottom 14 and thereby the angle of seat back 12 may be employed and areconsidering within the scope of the present invention.

As seen in FIGS. 2-5 and 12, a strap plate 86 with an aperture 88therethrough is provided. The strap plate 86 is employed to receive acarry strap 90 therethrough as one of many different ways to easilytransport the folding car seat 10 when it is in a folded condition. Thestrap plate 86, in this preferred embodiment, is secured to the bottomof the seat bottom 14 to emanate therefrom. When the seat bottom 14 isfolded or nested into the seat back 12, as seen in FIG. 12, the strapplate 86 is positioned proximal to one of the pass-through slots, namelya central slot 92, in the housing 12 a of the seat back 12. A length ofstrap material 90, which could be nylon or cloth is looped through theaperture in the strap plate and secured in place using the hook and loopfastener material 94 respectively on the first free end 96 of the strapand complementary material in the middle portion 98 of the strap. Thesecond free end 100 of the carry strap 90 includes a permanent loop ofstrap material 102. Thus, when the seat 10 is in a folded condition, itcan be easily carried using the loop 102 on the free end 100 of thestrap 90 while keeping the seat 10 in a compact folded condition.

In FIGS. 6-10, further details of the construction of the housing 12 aof the seat back 12 and the interaction with the side arm rests 16 ofthe seat bottom 14 are shown in detail. The seat back 12 includes anouter housing 12 a that has a pair of recesses 104 and optionallycorresponding apertures 106 that permit the side armrests 16 emanatingupwardly from the housing 14 a of the seat bottom 14 member to compactlynest therein. The recesses 104 and apertures 106 are of a shape andconfiguration that are complementary to the shape and configuration ofthe side arm rests 16 so that when the seat bottom 14 is folded up itclosely mates with the seat back member 12.

FIG. 11 further illustrates a side elevational view of the child carseat 10 in an open condition and mounted in a rearward-facing mannerwhich is an alternative to the forward-facing orientation shown inFIG. 1. In FIG. 11, a bottom chamfered surface 108 of the housing 12 aof the seat back 12 sits on the top surface of a car seat 110 with aseat belt 112 being routed through pass-through apertures 114 in thehousing 14 a of seat bottom 14 to secure it in place. The apertures 114in the seat bottom 14 are in a preferred location but may be in adifferent location if desired and still be within the scope of thepresent invention.

As can be seen in FIGS. 12-16, details of the compact nesting of theseat bottom 14 into the seat back 12 is shown in further detail. In FIG.12, a perspective view of the folding seat 10 of the present inventionis shown in a fully folded condition. FIG. 13 shows a rear elevationalview of the folded seat of FIG. 12. The bare portions 34 x of thevertically oriented plates 34 a, 34 b of the seat bottom frame 34scissor through the corresponding grooves 72 in the housing 12 a of theseat back member 12.

Thus, the overall thickness of the seat, as folded, shown as T in FIG.15, is significantly reduced compared to prior art folding seats. Thisis due to the aforesaid nesting of the side arm rests 16 within thehousing 12 a of the seat back member 12. As seen in FIG. 14, which is abottom rear perspective view of the seat 10 in a folded condition, showsthe side arm rests 16 of the seat bottom 14 residing within therespective recesses 104 in the housing 12 a of the seat back 12. FIG. 15illustrates a cross-sectional view through the line 15-15 of FIG. 13where the side arm rests 16 are housed within their respective recesses104 when the seat 10 is in its folded condition. Still further, FIG. 16illustrates a cross-sectional view through the line 16-16 of FIG. 13 tofurther show the unique nesting of the side arm rests 16 within thehousing 12 a of the seat back 12 and the reduced thickness T of the seatwhen in a folded condition.

Preferably, pass-through apertures 106 are provided with each recess 104to further reduced the overall weight of the folding seat 10 of thepresent invention. Alternatively, it is possible to provide the recesses104 without corresponding apertures 106 and still be within the scope ofthe present invention.

Referring now to FIGS. 17-19, details of the seat bottom frame 34 foldedup to the seat back frame 32 is shown. In FIG. 17, a perspective view ofthe folding seat 10 of the present invention with the seat back housing12 a and the seat bottom housing 14 a removed for illustration purposesand ease of discussion. The seat bottom frame 34, with frame members 34a, 34 b, is pivotally mounted about the pivot rod 36 so it can pivot toan upward, closed condition, as seen in FIG. 17. FIG. 18 illustrates aside elevational view of the folded frame 32, 34 of FIG. 17. Also, FIG.19 further illustrates a cross-section view through the line 19-19 ofFIG. 13 to illustrate the positioning of the seat bottom frame 34 withinthe seat bottom 14 when it is in a folded condition and fully nestedwith the seat back housing 12 a.

The vertically oriented plates 32 a, 32 b, 34 a, 34 b of the presentinvention are the preferred frame construction for the child car seat 10of the present invention. As described above, the orienting plate-likemembers on end in a vertical fashion enables a much larger load to besupported with the same or lesser amount of frame material. The use ofinternal vertically oriented plates 32 a, 32 b, 34 a, 34 b are unique ina child vehicle seat 10, whether that seat is of the folding type or ofthe non-folding type.

In that connection, an alternative embodiment of the child vehicle seat200 of the present invention is shown in FIG. 20 that provides anon-folding version of the seat 10 shown in FIGS. 1-19 employing theunique vertically oriented plates 32 a, 32 b, 34 a, 34 b as a framestructure. At least one vertically oriented plate, such as plates 202 aand 202 b, is provided to serve as the underlying framework for thealternative embodiment 200 of the present invention shown in FIG. 20.Preferably, two L-shaped plates 202 a and 202 b are provided at opposingends of the seat 200. However, more than two plates can be employed andstill be within the scope of the present invention. Also, plates arepreferably L-shaped in configuration and may each be formed of a singleunitary plate or from more than one plate attached together, such as byriveting or welding.

In this alternative embodiment, an outer housing (not shown in FIG. 20)is provided over the frame members to provide a desired ergonomic seatshape. For example, the outer housing, in this alternative embodiment200, is preferably a unitary housing construction that is laid over theunderlying frame 202 a, 202 b. As an alternative, two or more housingsections may be secured to the underlying frame to form a seat housingshape suitable for receipt of a child therein. Appropriate additionalcushioning or pillows can be added as needed, such as shown in FIG. 21below.

Referring to FIG. 21, a view of the a finished folding child vehicleseat 10 of the present invention is shown with full padding andcushioning 20 and appropriate safety belts 140 in place. Such safetybelts 140 are known in the art which include a pair of shoulder belts140 a, 140 b that terminate to a central connection point 142 betweenthe child legs (not shown). A buckle 144 is provided for releasableconnection thereof. Appropriate flaps 146 a, 146 b, 146 c are providedin the outer padding 20 of the seat 10 to permit access to all of thecomponents discussed in detail above. For example, a flap 146 c on theseat bottom 14 permits access to the strap plate 86 shown in FIG. 12.Also, flaps 146 a, 146 b in the padding 20 in the seat back 12 permitthe side arm rests 16 to compactly nest therein, as described above.Thus, the padding 20 provides an additional cushioning between thepassenger and the seat bottom 14 and the seat back 12.

In view of the foregoing, a new and novel child car seat 10, 200 isprovided that can be either folding or non-folding in configuration. Aunique frame structure 32, 34 is provided with plate members orientedvertically on their respective ends for added strength. In the foldingembodiment, a unique cantilevered configuration is provided thatpositions the seat bottom 14 in an open condition while a locking system40 secures it in an open condition for greatly improved security.

It would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changesand modifications can be made to the illustrated embodiments withoutdeparting from the spirit of the present invention. All suchmodifications and changes are intended to be covered by the appendedclaims.

1. A car seat, comprising: a first seat member; a second seat member atan angle relative to the first seat member; each of the first seatmember and the second seat member having a top edge, bottom edge, sideedges and a front face and a rear face; pivot means connected to thefirst seat member proximal to the bottom edge and front face thereof;the pivot means being positioned a selected distance from the bottomedge; a support member located proximal to the bottom edge of the firstseat member and between the pivot means and the rear face of the firstseat member; and the second seat member being pivotable between a closedposition with the first surface of the second seat member being in closeproximity to the front face of the first seat member and an openposition with the second surface of the second seat member being incommunication with the support member.
 2. The car seat of claim 1,further comprising: at least one first frame member connected to thefirst seat member and at least one second frame member connected to thesecond seat member.
 3. The car seat of claim 2, wherein the first seatmember defines a first surface and the second seat member defines asecond surface; pivoting of the first seat member relative to the secondseat member enables the first surface to intersect through the secondsurface.
 4. The car seat of claim 2, wherein the at least one firstframe member and the first seat member are an integrated unitarystructure and the at least one second frame member and the second seatmember are an integrated unitary structure.
 5. The car seat of claim 2,wherein the at least one first frame member is a vertically orientedplate.
 6. The car seat of claim 2, wherein the at least one second framemember is a vertically oriented plate.
 7. The car seat of claim 2,wherein the at least one first frame member is made of steel.
 8. The carseat of claim 2, wherein the at least one second frame member is made ofsteel.
 9. The car seat of claim 1, wherein the pivot means has an axisof rotation that is in front of the surface of the first seat member.